Unemployment rate holds steady in SC, but more entering workforce

South Carolina’s unemployment rate remained at 6.7 percent in November, as the state Department of Employment and Workforce (SCDEW) reports more people found jobs at roughly the same rate others started looking.

The monthly data released on Friday showed a record-high labor force of nearly 2.198 million people either who were either part of the workforce or looking for work. The workforce grew by more than 5,560 people since October, according to SCDEW. At the same time, roughly 5,900 more people were listed as employed in November from a month earlier.

November’s numbers did halt what had been four consecutive months of increases in the unemployment rate as more people began looking for work since the rate was 5.3 percent in June. Roughly 28,500 more people were listed as employed in November compared to the same month in 2013. At the same time, the number of people listed as unemployed dropped by just 1,100.

The biggest increases from October to November came in Professional and Business Services as well as Leisure and Hospitality, according to SCDEW. The Construction sector and the Education and Health Services industry both had slight decreases during the same span.

Marion County still has the state’s highest unemployment rate at 11.6 percent. Greenville, Lexington and Saluda counties all tied for the lowest rates at 5.2 percent.